Home About us Editorial board Ahead of print Current issue Search Archives Submit article Instructions Subscribe Contacts Login 
ARTICLE
Year : 2013  |  Volume : 11  |  Issue : 1  |  Page : 44-56

Saliva-The magical fluid of oral cavity


1 Senior Lecturer, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Sathyabama Dental College and Hospital, Jeppiaar Nagar, Chennai-600 119, India
2 Associate professor, Department of Public Health Dentistry, ACPMDental College and Hospital, Sakri Road, Dhule, India

Correspondence Address:
Sujatha Anandan
80/50, Swamybakthan Street, Ramalingapuram, Chennai - 600012
India
Login to access the Email id

Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None


Rights and PermissionsRights and Permissions

Saliva and its composition or constituents may be excellent tools or biomarkers for caries riskassessment. Proper understanding of salivary status of an individual would serve as a valuablemarker for assessing the risk for development of dental caries. Bicarbonates, phosphates and ureaact to modulate the pH and the buffering capacity of saliva. Macromolecule proteins and mucinsserve to cleanse, aggregate, and/or attach oral microorganisms and contribute to dental plaquemetabolism. Calcium, phosphate and proteins work together as an antisolubility factor andmodulate demineralization and remineralization. Immunoglobulins and few enzymes provideantibacterial function. Salivary components work in concert in overlapping, multifunctional roles,which can be simultaneously beneficial and detrimental for the host. Results obtained out of severalresearches have shown that salivary flow rate is the strongest indicator of caries risk. Bufferingcapacity, specific slgA against streptococcus mutans, calcium/phosphate ratio have shown a weakto-moderate association with caries risk. Other constituents have not shown a significant associationwith dental caries risk. Furthermore, in areas where controversial reports are reported, studies haveto be conducted with appropriate methodology and study design in order to obtain conclusiveevidence. By doing so, saliva can be understood in a comprehensive way and can be used as avaluable caries risk assessment tool.


[PDF]*
Print this article     Email this article
 Next article
 Previous article
 Table of Contents

 Similar in PUBMED
   Search Pubmed for
   Search in Google Scholar for
 Related articles
 Citation Manager
 Access Statistics
 Reader Comments
 Email Alert *
 Add to My List *
 * Requires registration (Free)
 

 Article Access Statistics
    Viewed2226    
    Printed36    
    Emailed0    
    PDF Downloaded176    
    Comments [Add]    

Recommend this journal